Barrel attachment



(No Model.) v

T. O. OAKMAN 8v W. L. RUSHTON.

. BARREL ATTACHMENT.

No. 547,026. Patented Oct. 1, 1895.

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NITEI) STATES THOMAS C. OAKMAN AND WILLIAM L. RUSHTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,026, dated October 1, 1895.

Application filed October 22, 1894:. Serial No. 526,634 (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, THOMAS C. OAKMAN and WILLIAM L. RUSHTON, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Barrel Attachment, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to barrel attachments; and it has for its object to provide a follower or cover attachment for barrels or similar packages that will provide simple and efficient means for exerting a constant pressure on the contents of the barrel or package, in order to keep such contents tightly packed therein, thus preventing rattling or displacement of the contents of the barrel or package during shipment.

With these and other objects in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a barrel equipped with the herein-described attachment, the parts of the attachment being positioned as when the barrel or package is filled. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the parts of the attachment as when the barrel or package is empty. Fig. 3 is a de-' tail elevation of the retractile spring and the wedge-keys therefor shown separated.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 designates a barrel or similar package, such as used for shipping oysters, meats, or other edibles of that character which require to be tightly and securely packed within the barrel or package during shipment. The barrel or package 1 is designed to accommodate in the open end thereof the self-adjusting follower-head 2. The self'adjusting followerhead 2 is of a size that loosely fits Within the barrel or package, in order that the same may adjust itself to any settling or other displacement of the contents of the barrel or package, and the said self-adjusting follower-head 2 is provided therein with a central opening 3, that is adapted to receive the upper end of the spring-arm at of the retractile spring 5.

The retractile spring 5 is designed to be arranged within the barrel or package 1 and is provided with upper and lower rods or arms eand 4, respectively, terminating in the loops 6, the loop of the arm or rod 4: being adapted to project through the opening 3 of the follower-head and to receive a wedgekey 7, resting on top of the follower-head, to provide for connecting the spring thereto. The terminal loop 6 of the lower spring arm or rod 4: is adapted to extend through the bottom opening 8, formed in the bottom of the barrel or package, and also receives a wedge-key 7, engaging against the under side of the bottom of the barrel or package, to connect the lower end of the spring thereto.

The retractile spring 5 is preferably arranged inside of an upright tubular spring casing or housing 9, that is arranged on the bottom of the barrel or package over the bottom opening 8 and extends upwardly sufticiently far to provide for housing all of the.

coils of the spring when the same is extended, and the said casing or housing is preferably provided with an upper contracted end 10 to keep out the contents of the barrel or package from within the same. The said casing or housing serves to protect the spring from injury by the contents of the barrel.

In operation, before the self-adjusting follower-head is placed in position the barrel or package is filled or packed, and when as full as desired the follower-head is placed in position and the upper end of the spring detachably connected thereto in the manner described. The tension of the spring adjusts the follower-head tightly onto the contents of the barrel or package, and this tension may be regulated according to the size of the spring, and, if found desirable, sand-bags 11 may be arranged under the follower-head to more evenly distribute the pressure on the contents of the barrel or package. The sandbags 11 not only serve to evenly distribute the pressure on the contents of the barrel or package, but also retain moisture so as to maintain the contents moist.

The sand-bag arrangement is not claimed in the present application, but is made the subject-matter of claims in the contemporaneously-pending application, Serial No. 536,982, filed February 1, 1895.

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction maybe resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a barrel attachment, the combination of a follower head adapted to be loosely arranged within a barrel or other package, a retractile spring arranged Vertically within the barrel or package below the follower head, securing means for temporarily fastening the ends of the spring respectively to the bottom of the barrel or package and to the follower head, and a tubular casing or housing arranged vertically within the barrel or package and incasing the coils of the spring to protect the same from the contents of the barrel or package, substantially as set forth.

2. In a barrel attachment, the combination of a loose follower head for barrels and other packages having an opening therein, a retractile spring provided with loops at its opposite terminals, one of which is adapted to project through an opening in the barrel or package and the other of which is adapted to be drawn through the opening in the follower head, wedge keys adapted to detachably engage in the spring loops, and a tubular casing or housing adapted to be arranged within the barrel or package to incase the coils of the spring, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS C. OAKMAN. WILLIAM L. RUSIITON. Witnesses:

J 0s. EVANS, E. J. HALL. 

